# Anyone try Savinelli balsa filter?



## KinnScience

Thinking of getting a Savinelli Toscana. They have the balsa filter system. Wondered if anyone here has used it ... likes it ..... hates it... etc.


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## Dedalus

I haven't tried one personally, though I've read good reviews about the balsa filter...and I'm sure Dub will tell you that you can't go wrong here.


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## Dgar

I have a Savinelli and dont use the balsa filter, I think most folks pass on the filters.

No Harm in giving it a try, just to see what you think.


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## morrissey1

I got a Savinelli Solaria 699 as a Christmas gift and I really like it. I do use the balsa filter. It seems to me that it cools the smoke a little, maybe its my imagination. However be aware that Savinelli makes a 6mm and a 9mm stem for the filters. I spoke with a Savinelli rep, he claims the 6mm is for all other countries except Italy wereas they use the 9mm. My pipe was ordered locally and I recieved it to find that it had the Italian 9mm stem. No problem right? Wrong! The 9mm filters are very hard to find generically. They had to be ordered from Savinelli..And of course because I smoked the pipe before I noticed this, I was unable to exchange for a 6mm pipe. So if you havnt already made your purchase..Take note and I hope this helps!


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## Requiem

The balsa filter makes the pipe smoke cooler and deals with any small moisture problem. I find it better then the other filters (charcoal or whatever)... however, I also find it takes some of the nic away, so I have very limited experience with filters... Instead I have equiped almost all my pipes with the little plastic pieces, also from Savinelli, that are meant to be used in filter pipes instead of filters, and those plastic pieces are good at keeping the pipe at low temperature.


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## DubintheDam

As pre-mentioned, I do like filters...I also like non-filter pipes too...call me crazy! Sometimes I don't bother with the 6mm filter and just smoke my Sav's without filter or adapter.....works fine too...only real problem with the 6mm system is additional cost, you can get a deal online or ask your shop rep to do a deal on a 10 packs or so.

6mm filters absorb moisture, cools the smokes but still leaves most of the Nicotine and flavor in...9mm does reduce nico and flavor somewhat. The nice thing with the 6 mm is you can still flick out excessive moisture from the stem if you need to. This is less effective with 9mm, be they charcoal or balsa.


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## beaupipe

I'm a huge fan of the 6mm balsa filters. In fact, I've gotten so used to their effect (cooling and drying) that I use them for everything other than English/Balkans and unrubbed flakes. I especially like jamming the 6mm balsas into cobs where I think they do a way better job than Medico filters. Draw is great and they absorb a surprising amount of moisture. I can't imagine smoking without them now and they are very inexpensive if you're in a position to order from a US-based online retailer.

The best thing about them, however, is that when you run out of them, you have to order more and when you order more, you always end up getting a bunch of tobacco or a new pipe. Hey, free shipping is important. :bounce:


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## KinnScience

beaupipe said:


> The best thing about them, however, is that when you run out of them, you have to order more and when you order more, you always end up getting a bunch of tobacco or a new pipe. Hey, free shipping is important. :bounce:


I'm in touch with that emotion :tu


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## Hermit

All five of my Savinellis have the balsa "filter."
It really isn't exactly a filter; the smoke passes
around rather than through the thing. I've tried
the adaptor and didn't notice a lot of difference.


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## dmkerr

Perhaps I'm missing something by not using filters. Then again, I don't notice my smokes being hot or overly moist. I guess I just smoke slowly and allow the tobacco to dry before smoking. Then again, I usually smoke tinned tobaccos (esp. new blends) in their "fresh" state and I still haven't had problems. 

So I guess to me, a filter is just an unnecessary additional step.

Interesting article, though, in the recent Pipe Smokers mag about "system pipes" including the filtered ones.


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## pro2625

I like the balsa filters until I have to run a pipe cleaner through the pipe mid smoke....


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## Butterguy

I enjoy my balsa filter Savinelli. Obviously no matter what, you're going to get some bad stuff running through your mouth from smoking a pipe but for some reason i feel a little better with a filter between me and the smoke.
When i replace the filter, which is every 1-3 smokes, I can definitely notice how much moisture and other... stuff is caught in the filter.
It really doesn't alter the smoke that much except for reducing tongue bite since the balsa wood soaks up the steam before it gets to your mouth.
I highly recommend the balsa filter system.


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## agony

I personally love the balsa filters in my Savs. Use them in my cobs too. They really work at soaking up moisture and trapping some of the tar and other gunky stuff without affecting taste that much. Then again, I'm a pretty sloppy smoker...I don't let my baccy dry first, I stuff it wrong, I'm impatient. A pipe slob.


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## Zeabed

agony said:


> I personally love the balsa filters in my Savs. Use them in my cobs too. They really work at soaking up moisture and trapping some of the tar and other gunky stuff without affecting taste that much. [...]


Spot on take, which I fully share. Precisely the reasons why I have several Sav filter pipes.


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## Siv

Filters? I didn't even know you had such things! If you don't inhale, what does a filter do for you?


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## Hermit

Siv said:


> Filters? I didn't even know you had such things! If you don't inhale, what does a filter do for you?


The Savinelli balsa "filter" is a triangular shaped piece
of balsa wood about an inch long. The smoke passes 
around, rather than through. It soaks up moisture.


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## Davetopay

dmkerr said:


> Perhaps I'm missing something by not using filters. Then again, I don't notice my smokes being hot or overly moist. I guess I just smoke slowly and allow the tobacco to dry before smoking. Then again, I usually smoke tinned tobaccos (esp. new blends) in their "fresh" state and I still haven't had problems.
> 
> So I guess to me, a filter is just an unnecessary additional step.
> 
> Interesting article, though, in the recent Pipe Smokers mag about "system pipes" including the filtered ones.


I have found that if there is a particular baccy which tends to bite a bit...*cough*MacBarren*cough*....it takes a tiny bit of the edge off. Makes a huge difference for me when smoking Dark Twist.


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## phineasrex

I have 2 Sav Duc Carlos, and they both take the 6mm filter. In my experience, which is limited, they are quite nice. The filters do a great job of absorbing moisture, and taming some tongue-bite prone blends. You can also go to a local craft/hardware store, A.C. Moore round these parts, and get a length of balsa wood the approximate width of the filters. I then cut this strip of wood into filter size lengths and there you go, all ready to smoke. And the wood costs about $.79 a pop. So go save yourself some money.


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## CWL

phineasrex said:


> I have 2 Sav Duc Carlos, and they both take the 6mm filter. In my experience, which is limited, they are quite nice. The filters do a great job of absorbing moisture, and taming some tongue-bite prone blends. You can also go to a local craft/hardware store, A.C. Moore round these parts, and get a length of balsa wood the approximate width of the filters. I then cut this strip of wood into filter size lengths and there you go, all ready to smoke. And the wood costs about $.79 a pop. So go save yourself some money.


You beat me to it, I learned from someone to just buy a strip of balsa at a hobby store and cut my own.

I completely agree that they help absorb moisture (especially my early foray into cheap aros), but they also do a good job at screening out some of the tars and nasties from the smoke as my filters are pretty-much brown-black with crud after a smoke. The guy at the pipe shop who sold me my first Savinelli told me to change them every 2-3 smokes, but I toss them after one. I can afford the bit of wood, and I don't want to handle the soggy wood in order to pass a pipe cleaner through.


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## laloin

anybody try DIYO bamboo filter,
the stuff grows like a weed in my parents yard, and I'm always being dragged into being cheap labor to remove it, no fun, caz you can't chop it, caz it just splits into a million pieces


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## Granger

When I started smoking a pipe I grew up in a Meer smoking family, so I gravitated that way. When I went out to Briars I bought a 7 pipe lot from Ebay of Savinelli Dry system ($35 for all of them). As a Meer Smoker who is used to what Meer does, the Balsa system is AWESOME! It cools the smoke, gets rid of moisture, and I think, makes the flavors come alive! I have bought a Quandale and Clark's Favorite as well and always use the Balsa.


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## CWL

laloin said:


> anybody try DIYO bamboo filter,
> the stuff grows like a weed in my parents yard, and I'm always being dragged into being cheap labor to remove it, no fun, caz you can't chop it, caz it just splits into a million pieces


Do you mean use dried tubes of bamboo that has been punctured to allow airflow? I'm trying to figure this out. Green bamboo wouldn't seem to do anything except to add moisture and probably some taste.


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